When we think about granola, we think something sweet, right?  I started pondering a savory granola a few months ago and wondered what kinds of flavors would make it something I’d actually want to eat more than once.  My boyfriend is the kind of guy who would eat beef for breakfast, so the idea of eating a healthy, savory granola bar is right up his alley.  I’m not that person but I really appreciate a sweet/savory snack in the afternoon. I ran the idea past a few of my family members and friends.  I got a lot of stink faces, a few maybes and only a couple of enthusiastic “yeah I’d totally eat that!” Can we pull this off? YES—we can!  So with a bit of trepidation and an encouraging word I decided I would dare to do the impossible!

INGREDIENTS (Makes 12 bars or about 5 cups of granola)
– 2 cups puffed brown rice cereal
– 1 cup old fashioned oats
– 3 tablespoons PURE MILA Chia seeds
– 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
– 1 cup sliced almonds
– 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
– 3/4 teaspoon salt
– 2 teaspoons curry powder
– 1 teaspoon ground ginger
– 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
– 1/2 cup honey
– 1/2 cup natural almond butter (room temp)

DIRECTIONS
1. Lightly grease a 9×13 casserole dish with coconut oil
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cereal, oats, PURE MILA chia, coconut, almonds, pistachios, cranberries, salt, curry powder, ginger, and pepper
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the honey and almond butter
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix with your hands until combined
5. Pack the mixture into your dish and refrigerate for at least one hour, and then cut into bars or break into chunks

I’m not going to lie to you—cutting these into bars didn’t really want to happen.  I tried freezing the entire dish, cutting them and putting them back in the freezer.  I got about 6 bars out of it and the rest just crumbled into chunks.  My boyfriend, being a silver-lining kind of guy, took a pile of it and put it in a bowl with unsweetened almond milk and ate it like cereal.  He said it was the best granola he’d ever had and couldn’t wait to see what else he could put it on.  I had a container of plain yogurt in the fridge and thought, okay, this is going to go one of two ways.  Much to my surprise, it was FANTASTIC.

I packed up the bars that survived and shipped them to a friend, and the rest went into a giant mason jar where it lasted about two days before it disappeared.  The puffed rice added an interesting texture.  The curry—THE CURRY—I mean who would have thought!? If you are a fan of the sweet/savory combo this insanely good-for-you recipe is right up your alley.  I’ll try this again—maybe with more honey—to see if I can get the bars to stick together better but, for now, I’m very happy with out this turned out and think you will be, too!

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Hey guys!  Before I get started on giving you all my secrets, I thought I would take the time to introduce myself!  My name is Elizabeth aka BB Cooks.  I am an Advertising Art Director, by day, and a wanna be chef in every other minute of spare time I have. My boyfriend, Jason, and I live in Easton PA with his son (9), daughter (7) and a precious puppy (3). Needless to say, our lives are pretty crazy!  No matter how insane it is around here we always make time to sit and have dinner together.  Food is where we come together and share our stories, our problems, our wins and lots and lots of laughs.

I have 2 very good friends that work at PURE corporate and once they introduced me to the products they carry I felt my brain start churning with ideas and we decided this would be a great way for me to share my love for food and my passion healthy living!  Whole health is at the forefront of my cooking and I can’t wait to share how PURE products have influenced my recipes.

Follow my instagram @BB_Cooks where you can find all the recipes from this blog as well as tons more drool-worthy creations from my little kitchen.